Built in 1857, the home on Prytania Street known as the Harris-Maginnis House, has along and interesting history. From a wealthy cotton broker, to a cotton mill owner who wasone of the most influential men in the state, to the New Orleans Chapter of the Red Crossduring WWII, to a private residence, to an elegant boutique hotel known as MagnoliaMansion...if the walls of this home could speak, they'd have an intriguing story to tell.

The house was constructed on behalf of Alexander Harris for his bride, Lizzie. Membersof the Harris family had been in the city for some time and were investment brokers in thecotton trade. In 1869, two of the Harris brothers, Alexander and Aaron, died less than 24hours apart, probably from Yellow Fever. Lizzie remarried two years later and soldthe house and land in 1879, to John Henry Maginnis.

At the time, John and Arthur Maginnis were two of the wealthiest and most well-connectedmen in the South. Both John and his brother, Arthur, had married daughters of the powerfulNew York politician, William 'Boss' Tweed. But they were known in New Orleans becauseof the mammoth cotton mill they built and ran - the largest in the Gulf South. The hugemill building still stands today in the Warehouse District, fronting on Annunciation Street.

In 1889, when he was 44 years old, John Maginnis was struck by lightning and killed at hisfamily's summer home on the Gulf Coast in Ocean Springs, MS. Mrs. Maginnis (also, namedLizzie, just as the first lady who had occupied the house), stayed in the home until herdeath in 1921. She willed the property to her daughter, who retained it until 1939,when she donated it to the New Orleans Chapter of the American Red Cross.

During WWII and on into the 1950's, the house was a beehive of activity. Dozens ofvolunteer programs and services either took place in the home or were conceived there.Finally, in 1954, the Red Cross, having outgrown the house on Prytania Street, soldit to Dr. CLyde Crassons and the home once more became a private residence.

In the early 2000's, the house underwent a long and exacting renovation, returningit to its original character of beauty, grace and elegance. It was then that it becameknown as Magnolia Mansion, an upscale boutique hotel.

When Arthur Maginnis purhased this city square in 1881, it was occupied by some houses, a lumberyard and the historic Duplesses Plantation house (built in 1765). These buildings were torn down to make room for the mill, which became the largest cotton mill in the Gulf South. It produced 21,000,000 yards of cotton every year. At its peak, the mill employed more than 1,000 men, women and children, most of them Irish immigrants.

The Cotton Mill took up a square block, bounded by Annunciation, Constance, John Chase and Poeyfarre Streets, and every inch of the space was used. Arthur Maginnisowned the mill and John Maginnis owned a huge factory annex, which took up the next whole city block.

The Maginnis family sold the business in 1914. The mill continued to produce cotton products, but by World War II, parts of the building had been leased to other businesses. All of the businesses closed or moved out of the building in the 1980's.

Though currently called "The Cotton Mill," the building is being put to quite a different use - the old mill has been turned into condominiums.